Clayton man arrested for alleged Ponzi scheme

State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced Friday that a 55-year-old Clayton man has been arrested for allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of about $850,000.

Victor Weber surrendered to authorities on June 29 and faces multiple felony charges, including grand theft by embezzlement and unlawful selling of a security.

Weber was allegedly operating the scheme between December 2006 and March 2009. He allegedly enticed people to invest money with the promise of an unusually high rate of return, then converted the money to his own use with no actual investments being made.

Weber allegedly solicited five investors to pay life insurance premiums for a third party, and eventually received $850,000 that was to be submitted to an insurance company. Instead he diverted the money for his personal use, according to the state department of insurance.

The arrest was made after a joint investigation by the department of insurance, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, and the California Department of Corporations.

"No matter how complex or sophisticated you think your scam may be, if you are defrauding consumers, we will track you down and we will help bring you to justice," Poizner said in a statement.

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case.

Anyone who may have been a victim of Weber's alleged scheme is asked to call the department of insurance at (707) 751-2005.